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Contents 1 Abstract... 2 2 What Exactly Is Telemarketing and Should Your Business Use It?... 3 3 How to Choose a Telemarketing Company... 4 3.1 Standard Features of Telemarketing Firms... 4 3.2 Definitions... 4 3.3 Telemarketing Service Providers... 5 3.3.1 BLUE DONKEY... 5 3.3.2 ITEL MARKETING... 6 3.3.3 PROFESSIONAL PROSPECTING... 6 3.3.4 GREAT GUNS... 7 3.3.5 CONTACT AMERICA... 7 3.3.6 ANSWERNET... 7 3.3.7 EXECUSIST... 8 3.3.8 AMERICAN TELEMARKETERS... 8 3.3.9 BUSINESS BEANSTALK... 9 4 Telemarketing Companies Overview... 10 1
1 Abstract The purpose of this paper is to compare and organize information about the leading telemarketing companies around the world. Telemarketing is typically used to generate sales and gather research through surveys and may be performed in house or via an outsourcing company. This site will focus on companies that provide outsourcing solutions and describe what you should look for when evaluating a telemarketing company. 2
2 What Exactly Is Telemarketing and Should Your Business Use It? Telemarketing, also known as telesales, is a form of direct marketing that involves a salesperson contacting prospective customers to sell them products or services. While most frequently done over phone, with the rise of the internet it has become increasingly common for web conferencing software to be used. Telemarketing is broadly split into two main categories: business to business (b2b), and businessto consumer (b2c) areas. Each form of telemarketing has its own challenges. In b2b telemarketing, the primary challenge is getting past gatekeepers who have no power to make decisions and act as barriers of access to the people who can (i.e. secretaries). In b2c situations, telemarketers must get past the negative perception that has been built of selling undesirable goods or services at times typically inconvenient to consumers (such as at dinner time). Companies typically split telemarketing into one of two goals: Lead generation, where contacts are gathered to later be sold Sales, where persuasive sales techniques are used to sell a product or service Telemarketing is generally done from a company office, a call center, or from the home. Telemarketing can utilize either a live operator or a recorded message. The use of a recording, known as automated telemarketing, is most often associated with political campaigns. Telemarketing is not about simply making a call and trying to get the sale. Most of the time, the first call is to determine what the individual or business needs, and the final call(s) are to motivate the potential customer to make a purchase. As with all forms of marketing, telemarketing should have a cost/benefit analysis done prior to execution. Factoring in things like the cost of a sale, the expected percentage of calls that will translate to sales, and the payoff to the company for making the sale are important considerations. 3
3 How to Choose a Telemarketing Company Selecting which telemarketing company to hire is not particularly difficult, though there are several things you should keep in mind: Does the company offer inbound as well as outbound telemarketing services? Do you need the company to set appointments for you? Does your company frequently engage in market research and would benefit from a telemarketing company that can handle sales as well as research? Does your company have a database that needs to be maintained? Are you looking for full outsourcing of the customer relationship management process or merely lead generation? Be sure to keep these thoughts in your mind as you consider the different companies out there. Your business should take the time to prepare a formal document describing your needs, which you can match against our comparison chart. If you are unfamiliar with telemarketing lingo, we have included the definitions of common terms so you can look them up as you go. 3.1 Standard Features of Telemarketing Firms The majority of telemarketing firms handle both inbound and outbound calls (this means that they receive calls as well as make them on behalf of your firm). Most telemarketing companies are able to generate leads and many can set appointments. Since making calls is the primary role of a telemarketing firm, most offer market research services where surveys are completed. Services that are rarer include event telemarketing, customer relationship management, and loyalty programs. In the 21 st century, the vast majority of firms use the internet to integrate with their teleprocess. While this occurs behind the scenes and is of more importance to the call center operator than it is to you, these strategic investments boost efficiency and are therefore something to keep in mind. 3.2 Definitions Telemarketing Also known as telesales, is a form of direct marketing which involves a salesperson contacting prospective customers to purchase products or services. Lead generation The process of identifying interested parties who may later purchase a good or service offered by a company. Outbound marketing A proactive type of marketing where a company directly reaches out to potential consumers. Most telemarketing people picture in their minds is outbound in nature. 4
Inbound marketing Reactive marketing based on the reception of incoming calls. Business to business The process of selling or dealing with other businesses. Business to consumer The process of selling to consumers. Automated telemarketing The use of a recorded message, frequently used as part of political campaigns. Telemarketing KPI The percentage of contacts that are turned into leads. Appointment setting The process of booking appointments. This service is commonly offered by many telemarketing firms. Event telemarketing With increased difficulties getting individuals to come out to events, some telemarketing companies have specialized in outreach that focuses on growing attendance. Database support At the heart of all telemarketing is your list of contacts, that is, your database. Some telemarketing firms offer support for growing and handling your database. Customer Relationship Management The process of growing and looking after your firm s customers. Traditionally an account manager is responsible for this. 3.3 Telemarketing Service Providers 3.3.1 BLUE DONKEY The firm s primary focus is on quality, not quantity. A leading UK telemarketing firm with over 200 clients, many of whom you would recognize. Given the company s client list and focus on quality, plus being based in the UK, Blue Donkey is more expensive than a call center in a second or third world country. If you need a UK based campaign that focuses not on quantity but instead on quality, Blue Donkey has to be at the top of your list. With clients like GE Healthcare, Bose, Dow Jones, and Cambridge University Press, this company is as premium as a telemarketing company can be. In business for 11 years, if this firm can t deliver results for you, then no company can. Of course, you ll pay for their services 5
3.3.2 ITEL MARKETING Extreme focus on metrics, meeting KPIs, and keeping costs low It s hard to find any cons with this company. Their transparency and focus on metrics and keeping cost down for their customers is a welcome change in the telemarketing industry. Serve Australia and Korea only. This Australian based company focuses primarily on meeting KPIs, in fact, they guarantee to meet 14% or they will give you 12 extra free hours of service. This company does not charge for script revisions and any leads they generate are exclusive to you (they do not resell leads to other companies). With offices in Australia and Korea, if your company needs telemarketing in either country this company comes highly recommended. Unfortunately, if you want to call elsewhere, you will have to find a different company. 3.3.3 PROFESSIONAL PROSPECTING This Canadian company is a leading provider in North America that focuses on not just telemarketing but all aspects of lead generation. Focuses on b2b prospecting. Due to the above, has limited telemarketing capabilities compared to firms that focus exclusively on the subject. Professional pecting has specialized in all aspects of prospecting which gives them some benefits and some disadvantages. If your firm is looking to generate leads across a multitude of sources, this firm does basically everything. Telemarketing, SEO and digital advertising, emails, Salesforce.com implementation and more. With that said, the firm doesn t offer telemarketing essentials other firms do like inbound support or market research. Should you be looking to generate leads from a variety of methods Professional pecting is recommended, though for solely telemarketing purposes you should probably look elsewhere. 6
3.3.4 GREAT GUNS Great Guns is less of a telemarketing company and more of a full marketing company that specializes in direct sales. They have little sacrifice to the standards of their telemarketing service. Lack the ability to handle inbound calls but otherwise a very comprehensive service. The second UK based telemarketing company listed on this site, Great Guns is a full blown marketing company that specializes in direct sales. Harmonizing digital marketing with social media and telemarketing, this company specializes in generating leads and converting them to sales. Differing from Professional pecting, this company offers more while sacrificing less in terms of telemarketing capabilities. They do not offer inbound marketing services, but they will manage relationships with your customers the way in house sales staff and account managers would. 3.3.5 CONTACT AMERICA Contact America offers a wide range of services and specializes in inbound and outbound telemarketing as well as customer relationship management The site does not inspire much confidence in the company. Contact America has 13 years of experience and is a division of AnswerNet, the company we ll be discussing next. While the company does offer a considerable number of telemarketing services we cannot think of a reason why you d want to use Contact America instead of their parent company. 3.3.6 ANSWERNET Comprehensive list of telemarketing services all the ones you will need and plenty of ones you probably won t (that s a good thing). None, this company literally offers everything and employs over 1,200 staff members. 7
AnswerNet is a huge company that has over 50 call centers operating under its umbrella. The company has more services than we can even list in the comparison chart, most of which are integrated with the internet in some intelligent way (such as online appointments and scheduling). As far as a telemarketing company goes, this one has every feature you could desire. Based out of America and Canada, this is a call center that is able to do everything, and do it well. 3.3.7 EXECUSIST Solid core telemarketing service Offers only a very select number of services compared to the competition Execusist is unique in that it has stripped away all the fluff features and instead focused on the thing that matters most to telemarketing: making sales. This American company with American agents has inbound and outbound support, and only the most core of telemarketing features. Servicing everything from airline companies to hotels and tech firms, this company has versatility. Unlike most other companies Execusist publically lists their prices which is a welcome change of pace (200 inbound calls with 65 hours of admin back office and a custom inbound number will run you $2000/month). The final verdict? This is a company worth checking out. 3.3.8 AMERICAN TELEMARKETERS Specializes in business to business services Generic, dated site does not inspire much confidence, is lacking some essential services like inbound telemarketing and database support, 8
American telemarketers is a B2B telemarketing company that aims to get you in the door, the rest is up to you. Their site is generic and the words could be copy/pasted from the year 2000. Lacking support for inbound calls, this company seems very barebones. If you are looking for pre qualified leads and appointments, this company may be worth checking out, otherwise we recommend selecting an alternative provider. 3.3.9 BUSINESS BEANSTALK This dedicated telemarketing company gives total customer care support Limited features in comparison to other telemarketing firms Business Beanstalk, despite the somewhat goofy name, is a company that focuses on keeping costs down for you. They focus on telemarketing KPI to ensure that your company gets the payoff it is looking for. This company will charge $16 an hour for their service, a flat rate that involves everything from script development to agents making calls. This flat rate is highly predictable and makes working with them easy. Calculating profitability is as simple as multiplying $16 by the number of hours worked and then factoring in revenue. In conclusion, while the flat rate is attractive, Business Beanstalk offers a smaller number of services than many of its competitors. The company does offer core inbound and outbound telemarketing, but it lacks otherwise common features such as database support and event telemarketing. 9
4 Telemarketing Companies Overview BlueDonkey itel Marketing Professional pecting Great Guns Contact America Lead Generation Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Appointment Setting Yes No Yes Yes No Market Research Yes Yes No Yes Yes Outbound Support Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Inbound Support Yes Yes No No Yes Event Telemarketing No Yes Yes No No Database Support Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Customer Relationship Management No No No Yes Yes Loyalty Programs No No No No No Primary Focus Quality of service Meeting KPIs B2B sales Direct marketing Acquisition and retention AnswerNet Execusist American Telemarketers Business Beanstalk Lead Generation Yes No Yes Yes Appointment Setting Yes No Yes Yes Market Research Yes Yes Yes Yes Outbound Support Yes Yes Yes Yes Inbound Support Yes Yes No Yes Event Telemarketing No No Yes No Database Support Yes No Yes No Customer Relationship Management Yes No No No Loyalty Programs No Yes No No Primary Focus Strong link to e services Delivering to your list Outbound sales Caters to small and medium business 10